Why Antique Oil Lamps Could Make You Money And Light Up Your Investments
So do you have a burning question about antique oil lamps? Can they be a good investment? Could they turn your abode into an Aladdin’s cave? Could they even be fun to collect?
For over 20 years I have been restoring antique oil lamps, bringing them back as close to showroom condition as possible and I don’t mind saying there is an incredible sense of satisfaction when you see the finished item. A week ago it was in poor condition and fit in a dumpster; today a clean, bright and perfect oil lamp is worth a lot of money. I have found that the thrill of discovery is absolutely out of this world.
Many of the lamps I have supplied to customers around the world 10 years ago will now be worth double or, in some cases, substantially more than double the figure paid. How many could say this about a capital investment these days? So could antique oil lamps be a good investment as well as being objects of innovative beauty? The answer has to be categorically yes. But you have to know what to look for.
The search can be exciting, you need to look for specific types of antique oil lamps. Manufacturer names on roving winders are important. Hinks, Messenger’s, Young’s, Palmer’s, Veritas, Evered, P&A to name just a few whose quality lamps can be valuable. The material of manufacture is important. Color is important. Glass and ceramic lamps are the most sought after to invest. Brass is fine, but generally speaking, unless the maker is someone like ‘Benson’, it won’t reach the same heights.
I prefer lamps with glass oil containers. As long as the glass is in good condition it will hold fuel without leaking and a well made colored glass fountain looks fantastic with a good Victorian shade of glass of the same colour.
As I live in the UK, I tend to prefer lamps made in the UK, where many of the patents originate from. There are literally hundreds of different types of oil lamps, but I personally prefer the type that uses a burner with two flat wicks side by side, known as a duplex. They are easier to work with and get parts for and there are a wide variety of different brands and qualities.
Can you buy a good old oil lamp for a reasonable price? If you’re prepared to clean 100+ years of tarnish inside and out, the answer is yes. If you don’t want to do any work, you may need to pay a little more, but there are many on the market that will hold their prices and increase in value.
Colored glass oil lamps are the most sought after, of which the lingonberry is extremely popular. Blue glass oil fountain lamps with matching blue glass shades tend to be highly prized and good ones command extremely high prices. Imagine my excitement when I discovered a worn, tarnished blue glass one at a local auction a few months ago…no one knew what it was and my profit a few weeks later was 1500%!
Where to look? Local general auctions are great and it’s not unusual to buy for less than £90 GBP and sell after a good cleaning for 4-5 times that. Antique stores are also good places to look, and most dealers are prepared to haggle. Boot sales can also sometimes produce the most unexpected results.
No matter where you decide to shop, be sure to inspect the lamps very closely. If the glass is damaged, do not buy it as it will not increase its value. Look for chips, hairline cracks, or anything broken. The main areas where there could be creeping scratches would be under the top of brass fittings and under a glass pan. Run your fingers across the top and bottom of a glass screen to find chips or cracks. The top of the shade should be perfect, but the base where it fits into a brass bracket may have some wear and tear on the bottom. At antique stores and fairs, beware of duplex lamps with wicks so high they touch at the top. That usually means they are covering up a faulty or broken brass burner.
Want to see how amazing cleaned and restored oil lamps can look? follow the link http://tiny.cc/lovelyoillamps to go to a website where you can see some of the lamps I have restored and passed on to happy collectors over the years. Fantastic to look at and also growing value of lighting history!